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Parrot Diet (exact portions inquiry)

WhistlingAway

Checking out the neighborhood
Joined
4/20/19
Messages
4
Real Name
Vereena
Hey everyone,
I am new to this 'forum website' and I am a new African Grey Parrot owner and I had some questions concerning my Grey's diet, she is around 1-2 years I am not so sure, unfortunately.
So far I know all about what they can eat and what they cannot eat. Ever since I had my Grey I've realised that she prefers fruits in comparison to vegetables - she is really picky about her food...
But the thing is I do not know how much I should give, and it seems like she's always hungry, also how many times a day should she get her 'meals' - like the ratios of the foods and by that I mean snacking too, like the ratio to fruits, vegetables, snacks. Just overall, what is a composed healthy diet (routine) for my bird?

Ps. She loves snacking, (sunflower seeds is a total addiction, chips, toasted bread (bake rolls are what they are called here in Egypt, I don't know if they are sold elsewhere), pretzels...)

Thank you in advance!
 

Kodigirl210

Rollerblading along the road
Joined
10/13/18
Messages
1,403
Location
Cali
With your girl being supposedly that young you should be able to tell. If she is a year then her eyes should be a clear, light grey. If she is 2yrs they should be clear, light yellow. After 3yrs they will be the darker yellow of an adult. Once they get their adult eyes, the only thing you know for sure is that they are past the age of 3-4yrs old.

If you have pellets available to you - you should feed 80% pellet to 15-20% fruit and veggies and just a little seed mix 1-5%. If you don’t have pellets available and just seed mixes, avoid seed mixes with sunflower seeds as they are bad. I would increase fruit, veggie, nut and grain intake to 70/80% and seed mix 20-30%.

Their diet should alway include more veggies than fruit and more grain than seed.

Without pellets you should mainly try to feed orange veggies, nuts & pasta. So yams, sweet potatoes, carrots, squash, pumpkin, acorn squash etc. feed dark green for vitamins-specifically calcium: broccoli,green beans, green peas, spinach, kale, chard, Brüssel sprouts & cabbage. Other veggies you can feed are eggplant, mung bean sprouts, edamame, potatoes, corn & jicama. Do not ever feed your birds avacado. It will kill them.

Fruits are pretty wide open but again still to ones that are high in Vitamin A. Cantaloupe, honey dew or any kind of melon, oranges, apples, bananas, star fruit, any type of papaya, blueberry, blackberry, raspberry, cherries-no pits, mango, or pineapple.

Added some spices for additional health such as cinnamon, star anise, hot peppers.

Grains are pretty wide open as well-Basically any type of pasta, couscous, brown rice etc.

If she is molting tried to get her extra protein and calcium. You can feed her mashed up or scrambled eggs. If you sterilize the shell thoroughly you can crush that up and add it back to the food to eat as well for the calcium.

Be sure to check out the food page as it has lots of recipe ideals.

As for how much to feed - if your girl is not overweight then feed as much as she will eat. Especially if she truly is only a year or two old. They are still growing and have lots of nutritional needs.

And always, always keep in mind that African Greys need more Calcium and Vitamin A than any other parrot. Provide her mineral blocks or cuttle bone or whatever it takes to make sure she gets enough of calcium. She needs to spend at least 15-20 minutes a day in direct sunlight (so not filtered through a window or door) to keep her healthy

Welcome to AA & Good Luck!
 

Hawk12237

Biking along the boulevard
Celebirdy of the Month
Joined
3/5/19
Messages
5,106
Location
Frankenmuth, Michigan
Real Name
Michael
With your girl being supposedly that young you should be able to tell. If she is a year then her eyes should be a clear, light grey. If she is 2yrs they should be clear, light yellow. After 3yrs they will be the darker yellow of an adult. Once they get their adult eyes, the only thing you know for sure is that they are past the age of 3-4yrs old.

If you have pellets available to you - you should feed 80% pellet to 15-20% fruit and veggies and just a little seed mix 1-5%. If you don’t have pellets available and just seed mixes, avoid seed mixes with sunflower seeds as they are bad. I would increase fruit, veggie, nut and grain intake to 70/80% and seed mix 20-30%.

Their diet should alway include more veggies than fruit and more grain than seed.

Without pellets you should mainly try to feed orange veggies, nuts & pasta. So yams, sweet potatoes, carrots, squash, pumpkin, acorn squash etc. feed dark green for vitamins-specifically calcium: broccoli,green beans, green peas, spinach, kale, chard, Brüssel sprouts & cabbage. Other veggies you can feed are eggplant, mung bean sprouts, edamame, potatoes, corn & jicama. Do not ever feed your birds avacado. It will kill them.

Fruits are pretty wide open but again still to ones that are high in Vitamin A. Cantaloupe, honey dew or any kind of melon, oranges, apples, bananas, star fruit, any type of papaya, blueberry, blackberry, raspberry, cherries-no pits, mango, or pineapple.

Added some spices for additional health such as cinnamon, star anise, hot peppers.

Grains are pretty wide open as well-Basically any type of pasta, couscous, brown rice etc.

If she is molting tried to get her extra protein and calcium. You can feed her mashed up or scrambled eggs. If you sterilize the shell thoroughly you can crush that up and add it back to the food to eat as well for the calcium.

Be sure to check out the food page as it has lots of recipe ideals.

As for how much to feed - if your girl is not overweight then feed as much as she will eat. Especially if she truly is only a year or two old. They are still growing and have lots of nutritional needs.

And always, always keep in mind that African Greys need more Calcium and Vitamin A than any other parrot. Provide her mineral blocks or cuttle bone or whatever it takes to make sure she gets enough of calcium. She needs to spend at least 15-20 minutes a day in direct sunlight (so not filtered through a window or door) to keep her healthy

Welcome to AA & Good Luck!

Couldn't have said it better, I would however add that it's best to avoid celery, which is stringy, and gets caught in their digestive track. Also avoid iceberg lettuce. I've heard -do and don'ts when it comes to raspberry. The seeds are problemetic. But I 've heard others say it's ok..so, it's something to add in diet lightly. Water melon is good. Without seeds, and fresh cooked pumpkin.
 

Rain Bow

Rollerblading along the road
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
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5/3/17
Messages
4,727
No chocolate or caffine!

I don't know much about A. Greys other than they're beautiful when fed correctly!t

I will say if I had to choose between a pellet or fresh fruits & veggies for any fid, I'd stick w/ the saying...

FRESH IS BEST!!!

but that's just me. They're are many that would argue w/ me over that. You may want to look into sprouting your own seeds. I hear it's much better for our fids. That's my next adventure.

Make sure when you do your fresh F & V's that you vary them w/ each shopping trip. This week we have fresh corn, snap peas & califlower. Fresh apples left from last week & a few pears. Next week is probably broccli, & something red, yellow or orange. Oranges are the highest in Vitamin A. Red & Yellows are 2nd ary. The vitamin that is difficult for us to keep high as mentioned. As for calcium, Any parrot is lactose intolerant. You can't give them cows milk, but a small piece of the harder cheeses is appropriate. My guy loves swiss, but a chedder can be good, parmesan too.

Keep in mind her poop will be a little runnier that day or the following morning.

I have an amazon, & I let him eat till he's full. A parront decision/? To ask your vet about, is soy. With a girl, the soy can trigger (as I understand it) hormonal behavior. It can cause issues w/ egg laying & binding. You may want to avoid this food, until you can become educated about it. I mentioned this as it is in a bunch of my food as I'm gluten intolerant. If I eat it Buddy always wants a nibble. My breads specifically. My vet said it was ok for him, but if he was a she it would be a No No.

Let us know how you make out! Your country lands are beautiful!

:congrats: On your fid
&
:welave:

:hug9: Rain
 

Kodigirl210

Rollerblading along the road
Joined
10/13/18
Messages
1,403
Location
Cali
African Greys are lactose intolerant. I would under no circumstances ever feed my CAG cheese or dairy. Whatever people choose to do with their own fids is their business but I would not be inclined to pay attention to Information that could make parrots ill.

In spite of the fact there are no pellet trees in existence, it is well documented that pellets are the best substitution for birds in captivity. This is due to the fact that they cannot forage for what they need anymore, it’s limited to what’s given to them. I have yet to see or hear a vet recommend that pellets be dumped, ESPECIALLY with CAGs due to their exacting nutritional needs. For a juvenile it would be best to do a high performance pellet in order to make sure she grows healthy and strong.

But then again, I would never offer information on a diet that I wasn’t familiar with or currently dealing with on a daily basis due to having the same type of birb as the OP. For instance, I know nothing of the specialized needs of an eclectus- only that they have them. Therefore I would not advise someone who has an eclectus with what I feed my CAG. That’s common sense.

If you can provide what foodstuffs are most readily available to you or if you have more specific questions, please don’t hesitate to ask. Hope this helps ;)
 
Last edited:

WhistlingAway

Checking out the neighborhood
Joined
4/20/19
Messages
4
Real Name
Vereena
With your girl being supposedly that young you should be able to tell. If she is a year then her eyes should be a clear, light grey. If she is 2yrs they should be clear, light yellow. After 3yrs they will be the darker yellow of an adult. Once they get their adult eyes, the only thing you know for sure is that they are past the age of 3-4yrs old.

Regarding the information about the ages... Here are some pictures of her eyes, how old is she would you reckon? IMG_4154.jpg IMG_4155.JPG IMG_4156.JPG
 

WhistlingAway

Checking out the neighborhood
Joined
4/20/19
Messages
4
Real Name
Vereena
Thank you so much for all your warm welcomes and your extremely helpful advice! :fairy2::dance4::hug8:
 

Rain Bow

Rollerblading along the road
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
5/3/17
Messages
4,727
African Greys are lactose intolerant. I would under no circumstances ever feed my CAG cheese or dairy. Whatever people choose to do with their own fids is their business but I would not be inclined to pay attention to Information that could make parrots ill.

In spite of the fact there are no pellet trees in existence, it is well documented that pellets are the best substitution for birds in captivity. This is due to the fact that they cannot forage for what they need anymore, it’s limited to what’s given to them. I have yet to see or hear a vet recommend that pellets be dumped, ESPECIALLY with CAGs due to their exacting nutritional needs. For a juvenile it would be best to do a high performance pellet in order to make sure she grows healthy and strong.

But then again, I would never offer information on a diet that I wasn’t familiar with or currently dealing with on a daily basis due to having the same type of birb as the OP. For instance, I know nothing of the specialized needs of an eclectus- only that they have them. Therefore I would not advise someone who has an eclectus with what I feed my CAG. That’s common sense.

If you can provide what foodstuffs are most readily available to you or if you have more specific questions, please don’t hesitate to ask. Hope this helps ;)

Thank you @saroj12 ! I'm sorry, I gave bad information. I appreciate the correction.

:hug9:
 

Rain Bow

Rollerblading along the road
Mayor of the Avenue
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Messages
4,727
@WhistlingAway ,

I apologize, there's a learning curve w/ birdys (you never stop learning). Its not always important to be right, but to do the right thing by & for them. I want to clarify 2 things. Cheese is bad. I said that our fids are lactose intolerant. I was told a small piece (equivalent to a bite) wouldn't hurt them & helps their calcium levels. I don't know that what I was told was wrong for all birds or for Greys like @saroj12 said. I'm very sorry I wouldn't ever want to do poorly by anyone's fid.

I also don't have an issue w/ pellets, @ all. I do have a problem w/ large companies that put their bottom line ahead of our fids, by using chemicals that could be replaced by real food instead. When they're trying to pocket 5¢ a bag. Put the 5¢ on the bag cost to the customer. I'd pay it, & I bet most of the people in the entire group, would too!

I do think that fresh is best which is why I'm trying to look into sprouting now. I also believe that a wide variety diet of fruits & veggies if your bird will eat that (mine does) mixed w/ well balanced pellet to cover an item you may have missed is good too.

On a side note, be sure to remove almost all seeds + pits from fruit. The can make any bird sick & even die.

There are many onsite that follow lists on this site. I hope it can help you.

Foods & Plants That Can be Toxic For Birds | Beauty of Birds

:gbh:
 
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